Help your family by having life insurance

September 12, 2011|By Bob Lotane

Gov. Rick Scott has proclaimed September 2011 as Life Insurance Awareness Month.

Noting that nearly 95 million Americans have no life insurance or less than needed, Gov. Scott said that during tough economic times, life insurance is more important as many Floridians have even fewer resources available in the event of tragedy.

Additionally, the industry holds $5 trillion in investable assets and billions are invested here in Florida. The industry paid out more than $59 billion, over a one year period, to beneficiaries according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. In Florida that figure was $5 billion.

Each year a significant number of Americans (600,000) die prematurely. The chances a 25-year-old male will die before reaching the retirement age of 65 is nearly 1 in 5; for a female the odds are 1 in 9.

Insufficient life insurance coverage on the part of the insured results in a 75 percent chance that surviving family members will have to take difficult employment or budgetary measures to meet financial obligations when a family breadwinner dies prematurely.

Personally, when my late wife Robin was suffering with terminal cancer, I did not have to worry about costs to keep her comfortable; I knew I could fall back on life insurance.

Robin's son has been able to use life insurance to pay for college and to purchase a house in the future.

Life insurance can be bought for relative pennies on the dollar. It is never too soon to investigate these options, and we thank Gov. Scott for shining a light on this important issue.

Bob Lotane is communications and political affairs director with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors–Florida.